It started off as an off-handed joke by one of RJ Smith鈥檚 friends in the summer before their final year of high school in a small Ontario town.
鈥淵ou should be prom king,鈥� the pal told him nearly a year ago.
Smith laughed it off because he didn鈥檛 believe he could really be crowned king as a transgender student living in Innisfil, Ont., located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe.
鈥淚 knew that it would be cool, but it didn鈥檛 seem like a real possibility,鈥� he told 麻豆影视 Channel on Friday.
The 18-year-old said many months passed before the topic came up again when his school, Nantyr Shores Secondary School, handed out the nomination forms for prom night.
That鈥檚 when the Grade 12 student said he decided on a whim to take his chances on winning the prom king title.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃hy not?鈥欌�� Smith recalled. 鈥淚 might as well write down my own name and have my friends write my name down and see what could come of it.鈥�
What came of it was that Smith nabbed the crown on May 13.
鈥淭hat was absolutely crazy,鈥� Smith said of his prom night. 鈥淗onestly, I wasn鈥檛 expecting it. I didn鈥檛 think that it was a real possibility for me even though my friends were all very confident in my ability.鈥�
Smith said the reactions to his win have been mostly positive and that the few negative comments about it have been overwhelmed by supportive ones.
鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 imagine something like that happening,鈥� he said.
